It's so nice to be back to normal. We went for our first hike since Thea's surgery and it was beautiful.
The air in Portland has gotten a nice coolness that makes exercising and hiking, a real pleasure. The leaves are just starting to turn and the skies have been partly cloudy, which suits my light sensitive eyes, just fine.
We decided to keep our adventure local and hit MacLeay park again. On our last hike there, we hit the lower trail. It's a relatively easy hike down and then a mostly flat hike to the end which is paved and handicapped accessible.
On this trip, we hit the Upper MacLeay trail which intersects a myriad of other trails. I have a feeling we could do a month of weekend hikes and never take the same route twice. The trail proved to be a nice little workout for the lot of us.
The girls were antsy to get started.
And Leo needed to get the GPS set and grab the bear grade pepper spray
But once we got started, we all admired the sights.
There was one moment when Leo thought he was going to have to actually use his pepper spray.
These two dogs came barreling at us, full speed, and growling, while we were walking around the neighborhood. Neither was on leash and both were giving our girls the hairy eyeball. The owner made a futile attempt to call them back.
I'm not sure if their intention had ever been to do more than make a little scene, but it all could have ended pretty unpleasantly if we hadn't diffused the situation. Leo and I both got between her dogs and ours and Thea eventually won everyone over with her cuteness.
The owner never did bother to come over and get her dogs, she just stood a block away and called them. I find that rather disconcerting, but perhaps I'm a touch over protective.
In the end, it all ended up fine and Thea was more worn out than we've seen her in weeks.
If that isn't the happiest site you know, you don't have a high energy dog.
See the rest of the pictures, over in my flickr set.
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Comments (20)
Oh I HATE when people just let their dogs out without a leash!! It's so rude! This past March, we were walking home from the park when my neighbor's three huge springer spaniels bolted from their front yard and attacked my bichon, Thisby. They put a pretty good hole in her side. They were sorry and paid for the vet and everything, but it wouldn't have happened at all if they had put their dogs on a leash! Yes, it's their front yard, but clearly they couldn't expect the dogs to stay there (no one can! they're dogs!). I was so angry. It's just not safe for the dogs or for anyone else. I'm so glad the situation ended well for you and your girls--watching a dog slowly heal a puncture in her side and then spending the rest of the year trying to re-teach her not to fear other dogs is a trial (she's still pretty cautious around dogs, but improving).
Posted by HibiscuitsGirl | September 29, 2007 11:34 AM
Posted on September 29, 2007 11:34
Oh my goodness, I am bothered as well by those people with how they had their dogs off-leash, and how they didn't even bother to control their pets after noticing you and your husband and pets walking by and being confronted by them. Their dogs are their responsibility. You took precautions for your hike/walk, and you had your dogs leashed. To have people like that ... who give no regard for the welfare of others ... or for the law (leash laws) for that matter, is really upsetting. I'm glad that you, your husband and your pets were okay.
Your pictures are adorable as always. :) Kudos.
Posted by Michelle | September 27, 2007 10:27 AM
Posted on September 27, 2007 10:27
You're not overprotective at all. Having pets is like having kids, and it comes with a lot of responsibility. I get incredibly frustrated when I see people not leashing their dogs or controlling them, especially when they're unfazed and unapologetic! I'm glad everyone was ok, though.
Posted by mick | September 27, 2007 6:17 AM
Posted on September 27, 2007 06:17
Okay, ICK with the off-leashed dogs and owners across the street. Hello? Grr. I'm glad it didn't come to blows and everything went well. And, glad to see everyone out hiking again! :)
Posted by Nonnahs | September 26, 2007 5:47 PM
Posted on September 26, 2007 17:47
What a lovely day. I'm glad Thea is back to her old self and can enjoy everything to the fullest! :)
Posted by Ruinwen | September 26, 2007 7:27 AM
Posted on September 26, 2007 07:27
Darn the two dogs.. hope Panda and Thea weren't too startled.
Looks like fun to have a hike. Wish we could do the same though Mum said just a couple of feet hike would tire us out. Sigh.
Thea looks so sweet in her tire-out photo, just makes us want to play with the girls even more!
Posted by Wiggley aka Mozart | September 25, 2007 4:29 PM
Posted on September 25, 2007 16:29
Wow - I'm relieved that they didn't attack having witnessed a little dog getting suddenly attacked by a much larger dog a year or two ago - it was terrifying...it came out of nowhere and shook the poor little guy like a ragdoll until my friend interceded and we literally SAT on it until the police came. The little dog was okay last I heard, thankfully. That woman needs to get some serious fines if there are leash laws where you live.
Posted by Eklectika | September 25, 2007 4:27 PM
Posted on September 25, 2007 16:27
I was just having a smile and 'awww' at the 'worn out Thea' shot and preparing to make a comment about how a pooped pup always makes me smile, when your last sentence made me realise you'd effectively beaten me to it. Yeah, it's definitely a high-energy dog thing, eh?
Posted by Alison | September 24, 2007 11:53 PM
Posted on September 24, 2007 23:53
yeah, i understand completely. my daughter has a jack russel terrier that is only 7 1/2 months old. she wears me out!
Posted by minnie | September 24, 2007 8:35 PM
Posted on September 24, 2007 20:35
Oh, loose dogs is a pet peeve of mine! Not only can they get up to no good like the two you met but they get hit by cars. I don't know why people think this won't happen but I've seen it far too many times.
Posted by Laurie | September 24, 2007 7:58 PM
Posted on September 24, 2007 19:58
I have regular dog walking routes for my various dog-walking clients. On one of them, there's a really obnoxious Parson Russell Terrier that occasionally run outs and tries to attack the dog I'm walking. The first time it happened, I used my Bad Dog voice on him. (This consists of making my voice low and gravelly and shouting "BAD DOG" at the top of my lungs. It's been known to stop charging dogs in their tracks.)
Well, the dog's owner comes running out shouting "He's NOT a bad dog!" over and over. This was in spite of the fact that the dog was snarling and growling with his ruff up. I made the mistake of trying to explain my Bad Dog voice, but she was already heartily offended, in spite of the fact that her dog was the offending one. He'd had to run across the road to try to sneak up on the dog I was walking. And when the woman came to him, the dog collapsed and cowered on the ground in front of her. Kinda pitiful.
But I still hate that dog. That's one dog I'd be happy to drop kick into the next county if I could. And I NEVER say that.
Posted by Janice in GA | September 24, 2007 6:00 PM
Posted on September 24, 2007 18:00
um, the bear-spray? SCARES ME. I am afraid of bears.
I lurve that Thea picture...she looks worn out in the best way.
Posted by Carrie | September 24, 2007 5:14 PM
Posted on September 24, 2007 17:14
I wouldn't say that makes you over-protective. Dog owners like that make me angry--they give those of us who are responsible a bad name. Glad you all had a good time!
Posted by --Deb | September 24, 2007 3:38 PM
Posted on September 24, 2007 15:38
I can't believe I'm delurking to comment on a car seat cover, but that one looks great! (I just spent the weekend cleaning our back seat.) Hugo loves Forest Park, 5,000 acres next to MacLeay, and we just found these fantastic maps. Did you make it to OFFF this weekend?
Posted by Helen | September 24, 2007 12:37 PM
Posted on September 24, 2007 12:37
I love how you stood back and took the photos. "Call me if you need me, honey." That is funny. We have a lot of loose dogs in our neighborhood so I always go with a partner. My dogs would not have been so cute.
Posted by Dawn | September 24, 2007 11:39 AM
Posted on September 24, 2007 11:39
i agree with jasmin. i think it's obnoxious that the owner didn't bother to come get her dogs, especially since they were being aggressive. that is a bad pet owner!
Posted by mai | September 24, 2007 10:33 AM
Posted on September 24, 2007 10:33
You're not overprotective, just a responsible dog parent.
Posted by Jasmin | September 24, 2007 10:31 AM
Posted on September 24, 2007 10:31
Wow, bear-strength pepper spray… I'd never heard of that.
I love the view with those beautiful trees. Glad to hear everything is back to normal.
Posted by Francesca | September 24, 2007 9:39 AM
Posted on September 24, 2007 09:39
Hi Marnie:
That's great that Thea is back to her normal self! Both Thea and Panda looks like they enjoyed the hike. I had no idea they had bear-strength pepper spray. Do you know if it would work on mountain lions? I hike near my home and they have been spotted in our area and it scares the bajeebies out of me to think of a chance meeting with one ever, which I pray never happens. One took a friend's friend's dog a few weeks ago - very sad and scary.
Posted by Susan | September 24, 2007 8:44 AM
Posted on September 24, 2007 08:44
I love that you buckle your pups in. They are just the cutest dogs too. Lucky you. I wish I could have a dog. Someday.
Posted by Kelly | September 24, 2007 8:38 AM
Posted on September 24, 2007 08:38